1 Samuel 9:21 (NKJV)
“And Saul answered and said, ‘Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?’”
Another aspect of the kinds of men and women God will use in these last days, is in the way they see themselves. While they don’t depreciate themselves, when they properly assess themselves, they don’t see themselves as qualified for leadership. For those who think they qualify for leadership, they really don’t qualify. The leaders God will use are people who see themselves as small in their own eyes, and this perspective qualifies them to be drafted into God’s end-time harvest force.
When Samuel approached Saul and said, (v20), “On whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” Saul was genuinely shocked. I can almost hear him mockingly laughing and saying, “What on earth are you talking about? The desire of all Israel is on me?” In his wildest dreams, Saul never expected he could be chosen as the leader of Israel. He knew himself and his father’s house well enough, and he knew that in Israel, there were many other people and families who were great and deserving of this honor.
The Bible tells us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. Of course, we are not expected to depreciate ourselves unnecessarily because we are the glory of God on earth. But when we look inwardly, we must never pride ourselves in anything that originates from us.
God is the One who calls, and He is the One who qualifies those whom He calls. But God will not call someone who thinks he is qualified by himself. A proud man looks at himself and thinks that he deserves honor and privilege and leadership; and to such a man, God frowns and refuses selection.
The man and woman God wants to use in the last days are people of great humility. They may be very gifted and talented – but they never presume to elevate themselves, or make a big deal of their capabilities.
If we want to be enlisted and to remain enlisted in God’s end-time spiritual army, we need very simple hearts and lowliness in our self-assessment. This is a critical ingredient.
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